Diary of a hilltop garden

Main menu

Seeds of Change

Gardening is all about change; the complex and interwoven life-cycles of flora and fauna, waxing and waning among the borders and corners of the garden.

A modest selection of ornamental and edible seedlings are already underway in our greenhouse. In the next few weeks, as usual, we shall be sowing the seeds for our longest standing crops: the winter squash, parsnips and brassicas, to be nurtured through the growing season in the hope that they will bring us handsome crops for autumn and winter. The transformation from humble seed to bountiful fruit is particularly impressive in the winter squashes.

There are even greater changes afoot on our hilltop this year, however, for we are growing something far more precious. All being well, when October comes around and we harvest the fruits of our labours in the pumpkin patch, we also expect to be welcoming home the newest member of our family.

I can scarcely believe that I am growing this small beautiful person: surely the most amazing transformation of all?!!

Along with trying to keep on top of work, the demands of pregnancy have been rather consuming recently: many of the seed packets that I optimistically bought through the winter remain unopened, and my work in the garden has been in limited bouts, when fatigue and nausea have allowed. While these are both hopefully easing off, I suspect I won’t be doing quite as much digging this year as usual! King of the Hill has been doing admirably though: the first beds in the kitchen garden have been dug over, the potatoes and garlic planted out, and the first tomatoes and cucumbers are already coming on well in the greenhouse, along with a few other edibles.

Apologies, then, for being rather sporadic in the past few months, both with my own posts, and particularly commenting on other blogs. I’ve been busy, growing! I won’t be able to stay away from the garden through the coming months, though, even when I can no longer see my own feet, or bend to smell the roses, so I expect to keep on posting and commenting as much as I can – and I shall continue to focus on the changes unfurling in the garden, rather than our new under-gardener.

Let’s hope that the foundations we have built in this garden are strong enough to weather a year (or eighteen!) with a little less attention than previous years.

Congratulations! You must be so excited. And fall is a good time to bring home a newborn. I have two boys, 23 and 27, and they have been the most rewarding part of my life. Even thought they don’t garden (yet).

How exciting for you, Sara – congratulations to you and King of the Hill. May it be a bountiful year in every way! I really enjoyed the winter squash I grew last year, by the way, spurred on by your successes :)